Hi,Going to Atlantis for a work trip in February. We have a few open nights for dinner and am looking for recommendations in the resort or even better, away from the resort! The chowhound posts are pretty old but it sounds like Cafe Matisse is a must. Appreciate any other recommendations!Thanks!ah

Copperleaf is consistently delicious. The food and service are always spot on. They do have tasting menus on occasion (I was there for their New Years Eve 6-course tasting menu) but you can easily create your own menu, with wine parings.

I love the nachos at The Ronoake. They are baked almost in a circular shape, with chips layered with cheese and salsa in the middle. Nice mounds of sour cream dot the top with jalapeños and black olives. I love the bits cheese that are crispy from the oven and then perfectly melted everywhere else. I usually get mine with chicken and honestly, never tried their guac. The small is plenty for two people. The chips are your average ground chips but I think it's the oven time that makes them so darn good.

The cheddar paprika croissant is amazing. It's not a croissant with cheese in it. The cheddar and paprika are in the dough and it is so intensely savory and delicious. The cream puff is also outstanding. I had it with the coconut cream and it was unlike any other cream puff I've ever had. Delicious. The plain croissant is good but try the cheddar paprika. It's outstanding. The scone wasn't a hit with me. It was good but I like a dryer more crumbly scone.

I also remodeled on a small budget. I had to prioritize my appliance purchases. My kitchen, built in the 1930's, is very small as is my condo. I spent money on a Miele dishwasher. It is incredibly quiet and it comes in a smaller size. Worth every penny. I've had no issue with my GE Profile appliances and my Whirlpool refrigerator. I also recommend going to Albert Lee. They are so helpful and also matched prices from Home Depot and Sears.

Hi there, New to the area and have out of town guests coming to town for the weekend. We have the dinner plans squared away for Saturday night (Delfina) but are looking for a few bars, lounges or beer gardens to visit before and after our dinner. Looking for a place that serves a good cocktail that is not a frat boy super party scene.

Not tied to the Mission for our after dinner cocktail. If you have recs in different neighborhoods, I'll gladly take them too.

I was there about two weeks ago for my birthday. I very much enjoyed my cocktail. It was a sunny warm day and I had their take on a margarita. Food, it was good but nothing that leaves me racing to go back. We had the dungeness crab deviled eggs and they were pretty much as advertised and described in the review above. We split the green salad which was as good as a simple green salad can be. My friend had the mussel bisque and no one at the table cared for it. The mussels were smoked and it just gave the soup an off flavor. Our server noticed that the soup bowl was still full when she came to clear our starters and she removed it from our tab. Three people had the salmon special which they all enjoyed. I had the braised octopus on homemade pasta. The pasta was very good, nice bite to it. I would have added more of a sauce to the dish. The desserts were just ok. It was my birthday so I was hoping for something really good. We had the cookie plate, tiramisu and carrot cake. Carrot cake was the best of the bunch. I'd go back, sit up top and have a drink or two but not sure I'd go back for dinner.

Heading to Walla Walla next month to celebrate a friend's birthday. Can anyone recommend a good bakery for a birthday cake? Interested in a good layer cake with frosting. Not interested in a grocery store cake and would prefer to support a small local bakery. Downtown pick up is ideal.

We are going to Walla Walla for our annual wine tasting/cycling weekend in April. We've eaten at Whoopemup Cafe the past couple of years, Whitehouse Crawford and this place outside of downtown that has good pie. I cannot remember the name. Love Sweet Basil Pizza and Colville St. Patisserie.

I am looking for suggestions for a great birthday dinner for the Friday night we are there. Preferably something downtown and under $50 per person. Props if they take a reservation since there are 7 of us. Also suggestions for a casual lunch and breakfast are appreciated.

Rendering is super easy. Seriously. Put the leaf lard in a pyrex dish, low oven (I think mine was set to 200 degrees) and put it in overnight. Strain thru paper towels into a storage container. Let it set and then it's ready for pie crusts.

Big fan of the burger at The Attic in Madison Park. Great quality meat, not too packed so the patty is slightly loose. It's also not massive so you can eat a few fries too. I do wish their fries were better though. Pretty sure they are frozen. For such a good burger, hand cut fries would be a real treat.

I've picked it up at the Farmers Market from Skagit Valley Ranch. Combine it with butter for the best pie crust you've ever made. I want to say they are at the West Seattle Market on Sunday but check their website for Farmers Market locations.

Poppy. The food is great, especially the soups that are part of the thalis, the eggplant fries drizzled with honey and the desserts are fantastic. And you can hear you dining companion, actually have a conversation. I went to Spring Hill once for brunch. Saturday, about 11am, and it was so loud the server couldn't even hear our order. I won't go back.

So we are back from Vegas and had some food highs and lows. Highs, the croissant at Bouchon and the noodles at Beijing #9. Lows, a few of the courses at Aureole.

Our intent was to do the tasting menu at Aureole but nothing on the menu really popped out at me. I also just ran a half marathon that morning so lamb and meat didn't sound super appealing so we built our own tasting menu.I started with tomatillo gazpacho with a salad of hamachi (I think), cilantro and a few sneaky jalapeno peppers. The gazpacho was inedible. Seriously. It was so salty, I was in shock that this could leave the kitchen. I thought, maybe I add some of the salad to the gazpacho but it still was inedible. The side salad was delicious, served in a potato chip cup.My sister had the onion soup. The puff pastry gruyere dome was delicious but the soup was just ok. I debated on whether to send my soup back but I didnt as we had a few other courses ahead of us and I wanted to leave plenty of room as I just ate two pretzel rolls. They were so good.We split a field greens salad with mushrooms. Nothing to write home about.The main courses were the highlights. I had sole in a coconut curry broth and my sister had black code. Both perfectly cooked and delicious, sauces were perfect. I was very surprised at the portion size. They were huge. Usually, fine dining equates to small portions but not at Aureole. We also split the asparagus as a side.Dessert was another area of dissapointment. Nothing really popped out at me. I asked the waiter a few questions and ultimately decided against it. I was exhausted and bed sounded more appealing than sweets. The waiter went into serious hard sell mode and then shot me a nasty when I politely declined for about the third time. He then told the other waiter who also seemed a bit put off when our table of two did not order dessert or coffee. Again, the fish was perfect, the bread guy was awesome. Once he heard I ran the race, he came by a lot offering bread which I totally appreciated. So, mixed review on Aureole.

1. Salumi in Pioneer Square, look it up, it's all over this board. Closed on Mondays.2. This is Seattle and I hate to say it, but it's not a dress up kind of town. But I travel to New York often and I find it less and less to be a dress up kind of town. If you want dress up, Canlis. I prefer Corson Building or his other restaurant, Sitka & Spruce. Some like Dahlia, I prefer Palace Kitchen and Etta's for brunch.3. Bakeries, I like Macrina in Belltown, Bakery Noveau in West Seattle or I've heard good things about Honore in Ballard. Besalu in Ballard is also delicious. 4. Dungeness, eat as much of it as you can. Jack's is a great spot.

Greetings from Seattle. I will be in Vegas for the rock-n-roll half marathon first weekend in December and am looking for a celebratory dinner recommendation for Sunday night. I have read blogs, boards and there is just too much to slog through. So I look to you Chowhounders.

Some criteria to help with your recommendations:I like tasting menus because they offer smaller portions and varietyI love French food but also interested in seafood, Mediterranean.....quality ingredients, well prepared.Under $100 per person for foodNice wine parings that can be purchased at an additional costA place that is dressy but not too formal or stuffy. A place that will not be horrified if my sister and I try bites of each other's courses.A relaxed pace for the tasting menu, with courses not coming out one right after the other.

We are staying at the MGM Grand. I know Joel Robuchon's more casual restaurant has a $75 tasting menu. The $385, 16 course menu, is out of our range. I think we are going to Bouchon for Brunch on Monday and going for noodles on Friday night at Beijing Noodle No. 9.